The Japanese Naomi Osaka and the American Coco Gauff advanced this Tuesday to the second round of the WTA 500 tournament in San José, in a day in which the Canadian Bianca Andreescu, champion of the United States Open in 2019, surrendered to the American Shelby Rogers.
Osaka, winner of four ‘Grand Slam’ titles and current number 41 in the world, beat China’s Winwen Zheng 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, one of the most improved players since last year, after climbing more than one hundred positions in the ranking and placed in position 51.
The Japanese, whose first participation in San José dates back to 2014, will play a high-level round of 16 with Coco Gauff, who won with authority against Anhelina Kalinina.
Gauff barely lost a game and won 6-1, 6-0 in just 54 minutes of play.
The young American, sixth favorite, was confirmed intractable against rivals who are not part of the first 50 players in the world, by adding a streak of fourteen consecutive victories.
The tournament lost Canadian Andreescu, who three years ago was crowned US Open champion, eliminated by Shelby Rogers (6-4, 6-2), number 45 in the world.
Andreescu dropped to position 54 in the ranking and could not beat Rogers, a rival against whom he had already lost last year in Chicago.
Rogers will face each other in the next round with the Greek Maria Sakkari, the first favorite in San José, ahead of the Spanish Paula Badosa.
Badosa will start this Wednesday against the young American Elizabeth Mandlik, daughter of the Czech Hana Mandlikova, winner of four Grand Slam tournaments in the 1980s, and Vilem Mandlik, an athlete who participated in two editions of the Olympic Games.
Number 240 in the world ranking, Mandlik entered the main draw after overcoming two qualifying rounds, against the Mexican Fernanda Contreras and the Swiss Jil Teichmann, and gave the big surprise against Alison Riske, number 33, to advance in the Californian tournament and meet with the second favourite, Paula Badosa.
Her mother is Hana Mandlikova, who in the 1980s won two Australian Opens, in 1980 and 1987, the 1981 Roland Garros and the 1985 US Open.
The Czech also rose to glory at Wimbledon, but lost the 1981 and 1986 finals. In addition, she was crowned champion at the 1989 US Open doubles tournament competing alongside Martina Navratilova.
Her father, Vilem Mandlik, was the best Czech athlete between 1955 and 1965 and participated in two editions of the Olympic Games, in Melbourne 1956 and in Rome 1960.